Please Help! Sewage smell from drain when hot tap runs

Only hot? The immediate thought that came to mind is that you're creating a venturi effect and pulling in the smell of that dead bird in the vent pipe, but that would be for cold and hot. Have you thoroughly cleaned the traps?

Do you live in a part of the country where you have unusually hard water? Look in the pot after you boil water; if you see a ring, it's hard.

Maybe you need a vent pipe or two to dispose of the sewage gasses.

I think you are right as she only smell when she use the water, Kath check to see if you have a vent pipe it is easy to see from outside your house, 4" pipe from the ground to the roof. It should be at the end of your sewer system if not install another one at the end of sewer system to vent the gas

I think the fact that the some bathroom fixtures, including toilet were moved is an important clue. Each fixture needs a vent pipe, and I believe the preferred location is 'upstream' from the drain. Other configurations are OK, but in those cases the distance along the wast pipes from the fixture to the vent pipe is very important. Sometimes because of obstructions caused by the framing in the walls it is tempting to combine the vent pipes from two different fixtures inside the walls. I'm not a plumber, but my understanding is that the best bet is to find a way around the framing and only combine two vent pipes above the ceiling. Do you have a diagram or sketch of how the vent and waste pipes are connected?

Try running the hot water along with the cold water (to make tepid water) and see if the smell is still there. It may be that the steam from the hot water is lifting the stench from your pipes. The only other thing I can think of is that maybe your hot water pipes are sharing a vent pipe with your sewer, and that pipe has gotten clogged up.

I would be tempted to use an elimination process to find the source of the problem. To check if the hot water from the tap is the source of the odour, simply boil some water on the stove, kettle, enough to simulate running the hot tap for a minuite. Pour it down the drain at about the same rate as you would the hot water; if the smell emerges, then the problem is after the tap/faucet, if not it is beforehand.

If it is beforehand, i would investigate the hot water system, as some mud or other contaminate may have made its way into the thing. If it is after it could be a question of geography.

Are you living on independent water (ceptic tank etc), are you on the lowest floor of an apartment building in a city, do you have a garbage disposal unit in the kitchen?

Does the problem occur just from the kitchen tap, i.e. if you run the hot water in the shower/bath does the smell emerge? If so, then by elimination process you can identify which pipeline is generating the smell and either try to flush it out, get a plumber in to clean it or replace it.

I found that in a previous house i was living with some housemates who poured a significant portion of (in my opinion) bad smelling food down the drain. This caused the plumbing to smell quite bad. I found 2 solutions to this which may be of benefit, bleaching the drain, which I would not recommend if it is the kitchen sink, and pouring some laundry powder down the sink.

Good luck with trying to find the problem I hope you find it soon.

I think the first thing is to see how many vent stacks you have, and then, if there is more than one, check whether it is only the drains to that one stack that are causing the problem. It does sound as though there is a blockage in the stack.

Or you could just rod the stacks and see if that does it.

Hi

You may find one of your "U" bends has dried out, just get a bucket and tip some water in each, especially the floor traps.

Tony

Error, sorry

About 4 months after buying and moving into our house, I noticed that at times when I was near the sinks, or in the shower, I got a slight smell of sewer gas. Well I knew that it could not be the sewer because we moved from the city to out in the country. We had a septic system that was in need of being pumped out. We thought it had been checked by the appraiser and pumped out before we moved in. Well the appraiser had a septic system installer check it out and gave it passing grades, but it turned out that it had not been pumped out in over 3 years. I know this because the place we had pump it out was the place the previous owner had used. After the septic tank was pumped, no more sewer gas smell. I guess the way septic tanks are designed, they hold the solids, and allow the liquids to flow out to the drain fields and filter down into the ground. Once the tank becomes filled with solids, you will get the sewer gas odor. I don't know why it only happens when the solids reach the limits for the tank size. Maybe someone else on here can shed some light on that aspect.

I've had my septic tank cleaned exactly 3 times in the 40 years I've lived in this house, and the last two times, They told me it really didn't need it. The last time I did have a problem with roots that got into a line, but the tank was OK.

Anyone on a septic system needs to pay attention to what they discard in the sinks and toilets!

Hey Zac. Had a similar problem on a larger building that was retrofitted. They left a line open and it vented sewer gas between the walls. Took months to find it and just needed a cap. Bad, bad smell. If your dad was running new plumbing, he could have left an open line that is venting or didn't cap an unused line. Good luck.

• Chase through all the modified plumbing and look for uncapped drains and missing U-bends within the building. If the installation has been constructed to code then there shouldn't be any problem.
• Check that all air admittance vlaves on the systemk have been installed the correct way round and work as designed.
• Check all wastewater pipes are closed and that there isn't a leaking joint somewhere. A similar problem here was cured simply by wiping vaseline around the O-ring that had been fitted to the joint by design, and re-assembling.
• Check the vertical stench pipe is intact and not blocked with something like a bird's nest.
• Lift exterior drain covers and check that the system is free-flowing.
• Report back to this thread with more information after these checks.

Hi Kath. Plenty good answers here. I would first check those vent pipes and then the type of sewerage system you have, central water-born disposal by council or is it a septic tank and French drain.

If its the latter you need to be careful of what you put down it. The septic tank relies on bacteria to break down waste. Using most drain cleaners will kill off the bacteria leaving you with the huge mess to sort out. The other common problem is running all waste water through the septic tank. Again the bacteria balance will not be maintained. You should have kitchen water, shower, bath and basin water all going straight into the French drain and only toilet water going into the septic tank.

Some authorities don't allow septic tanks to flow over "bacterialy processed" water into the French drain, which means they HAVE to be pumped out regularly.

Another problem is where systems have upgraded from septic tanks to central sewers and with buying and selling properties yours may have missed the link up to the new system, or your dad may inadvertantly have linked into the old system again. Some years ago I lived in a house where the council plans showed our house to be on the central council system. We had a huge crowd for Christmas form overseas and the whole system collapsed. Our yard was turned into a sewerage farm and after five days of digging we finally made the correct connection to the central system. It was a really crappy Christmas!

Good luck. For a bit of relief liquidise a couple of old lemons and pour that down the drains. It helps quite a bit.

I agree with Geode Hunter.

Check your water heater. It may be a low quality Chinese product causing all that disturbance!

Uygur

I had a similar problem that drove me "bonkers" for a long while. I verified the openings on all the plumbing and traps, etc. I replaced my hot water tank more recently and the smell is gone. What I don't yet understand is that the problem came on about 10 yrs after I had been living in this house (I've been there 25 yrs).. Come to think of it, I did have a "new" water tank installed around that time along with other minor plumbing, but the tank was an American made unit. Based on the comments, I'm thinking the water or the HW tank was the culprit, although the water source is Lake Erie via the municipal water authority.

Two additional thoughts. Keying off the Guest GA about elimination... Get a gallon bottle of distilled water from the grocery store. Boil it in a clean pot. Pour it down the drains. Do you get a smell? If so, the problem is clearly in the drains. If not, the problem is likely in the water supply.

What country do you live in? Different codes = different systems.

Run some hot water in a glass and smell the water. If the odor is there then the problem is with the hot water line/tank. Hot water tanks come with a magneisium or aluminum sacrifical rod that is used to preserve the tank. as the rod reacts with the water (especially hard water) You will get the rotten egg odor. If there is no odor from the sample in the glass then You will at least elimanate the hot water line/tank.

I would have Your father or a certified plumber reinspect the plumbing, inspecton should not be that expensive.

oilcan13

If it is the drain, chances are the new plumbing rendered your drain waste vent ineffective where the hot water exacerbates the problem. If you hire a plumber to check, he may be doing this test.

http://books.google.com/books?id=oyDJFpjVAOYC&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=test+drain+waste+vent+system&source=bl&ots=4wHoPwreNw&sig=nXjuN20GSFjbaQwyHCdoBFf4_qM&hl=en&ei=w3XTSoajKMbUlAf4462pCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=test%20drain%20waste%20vent%20system&f=false

Good ideas. A couple of more thoughts. The water heater has a drain valve at the bottom. Open it and run some water into a bucket. Smell the water and check the color. Do you have a floor drain in the house. If so the traps often dry-out so there is no seal to the sewer gas. Hot water in the line could increase the smell of the gas as it would cause more air flow. If you do have floor drains, pour a quart of water into them each week. Vents. If the vents are not placed in the drain lines in the proper location, the traps will syphon. With no water in drain traps, sewer gas can travel back into the living space. Any hot water (steam) will intensify the smell. I would encourage you to have an inspection by a professional. Sewer gas is deadly and can be explosive (methane).

I have found that same problem through out my home. What has happened at least in my case is the trap and pipe to the trap would build up a nasty black scum that probably consisted of mold/mildew, hair in the case of the bathrooms and who knows what else. When the hot water would run the steamy water would make the smell come up with the steam so you would only smell it then. What I do now is clean the drains and the trap out when I smell that funky smell. Once clean the smell goes away. If your system can take chlorine you can pour clorox down the drain on occasion and it will get rid of some of the black stinky gunk but not all of it. I usually just pull the trap and pipe bring it outside and pour some clorox into the pipes let it sit a while and blast it out with the hose and wipe out the black gunk. I usually get a few years out of the drains before I do it again.

This may not be your problem but something to look into.

Lots of good answers. I think it's your vent stack. One thing that hasn't been mentioned, is that if your vent stack is somehow plugged, when you flush the toilet, rather than pulling air from the outside of the house, it will create a vacuum and pull the water out of the u-bends under your sinks. The bottom of those u-bends has to be full of water. If they are not, you have nothing between the drains and the sewer. Heat rises, thus the smell when you use hot water. One way to prove this would be to pour about a quart of water in each drain, don't flush any toilets and then go run your hot water, if there is no smell you definitely have a venting problem. Good Luck, hope this helps.

The real hint here is "Whenever I turn on the hot tap". Yes, a water heater sacrificial anode and hard water can cause this smell. Most are made from Aluminum, and changing to a Magnesium anode often solves the problem. The only difference between a 5 year or a 10 year warranty in a water heater is the length of that anode. Longer anode = longer warranty.

If the rotten egg smell (hydrogen sulfide gas) is concentrated enough to harm you, the first thing to be destroyed is the ability to smell the gas. If any of you ever have to enter a confined space and have the remotest idea hydrogen sulfide gas may be present, use instruments to test the air. Then TRUST them.

i would suspect you have sulfer in you water you said you changed the tank (hot water or pump tank?) test your water

neighbour has same problum is the sulfer

It may be that the HWT is loaded with sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB). These bacteria like hot water tanks as the nature of heating removes oxygen from the water. And the SRB will find ideal temperatures to proliferate. They impart a very strong odour of rotten eggs.You can try to disinfect the HWT by siphoning a solution of peroxide (3% from a drugstore x 12 oz) into the tank. You can easily do this by opening the drain on the bottom of the HWT tank, but first shut off the cold water supply to the HWT, Open a hot water tap near the HWT but higher than the drain. Once you open the tap that is higher water will run from the drain tap and you will feel a slight suction at the tap. Put the peroxide into a shallow soup bowl or plastic bowl that will fit under the tap. Cover the tap with the peroxide solution and it will go into the hot water tap that you have opened. Let the complete solution empty and leave the tap open for one extra minute and then close the tap. This is to allow the Peroxide to enter the tank and not just the copper line to it. Close the valve at the bottom of the HWT and leave the cold tap off for about one hour. Open the valve and run the hot water line for a minute..watch out for small splattering for a minute or so. The SRB (no health concerns) are considered obligate anerobes and the oxygen from the peroxide will kill them. Repeat if it recurs.

If that does not solve the problem check the vent stack for blockage such as bird nest, squirrles, etc. Frost in wiunter is sometimes a problem on some vents. Without a good vent the water will be sucked form the P or U traps installed and when these are dry sewr gases can enter the house. Check answer 22 also.

Failing these actions you will need a plumber. Good Luck

Good idea here but make sure you turn off the power to the heater, if the level gets low enough to expose the top heating element it will quickly burn up.

There May be three reasons for smell to come through the wash basin. 1) There is no vent on your drain line which connects to the main drain. 2) There is no "U" trap installed immediately after the wash basin connection on the drain line. "U" trap always retain water in the "U" shape bottom up to the level of over flow which prevent smell to come from rotten drain. 3) When use hot water, there always little steam produce due to heat and cold-hot contact of water, which evaporates to your nose. Suggest: If you have any opening on your drain line anywhere before the main drain, open it and keep hot water flowing for about half an hour, you would be o. k. In addtion use drain opener chemical.

Pour down hot water from kitchen, bath room drain openings and if you find same foul smell coming out into your house, it is an indicator of a blocking in the bottom drain line say a U bend for that matter.with feeble opening for water to go, some thing is blocked inside the pipe and make organic decaying, the reason for foul smell.

In that case apply simultaneous pressurized water from all outlets from your house or try compressed air expulsion to clear the blocking. you may also try inserting a air line hose or flexible string to remove.

To avoid further complications related to this matter it is high time to call the plumber, trace the pipe line circuit and settle the matter.

YOu don't say wether you have city sewers or a septic system. If you have a septic system, and I suspect y ou do from what you wrote, chances are the hot water is causing the sewage in the septic system or the drain pipes to stink. Get some good septic cleaner such as Rid-X or other product and let it stand in the drain pipes (all of them especially the toilet ) and see if that helps. Since you had a new hot water tank, I doubt it is the water heater, ( try this, take some COLD tap water and heat it up and see if there is an odor. you may have sulfer or other foriegn matter in your water that causes the problem when it is heated. Good luck )

volunteered to help a friends daughter solve a leaking bathroom in an apartment recently. I t was the tub drain and the tub overflow. when I was standing in the tub I could hear water flushing from other apt's. bubbling and echoing also. I checked below and found that the tub/overflow had no u trap. straight into a 8 inch vertical waste pipe.

I told them that the plug must stay in the tub at all times when unused. and we taped the overflow off. 50 year old apt or older. do not know if this was original [doubt it] or repairs. recommend to get a garden hose section or cardboard tube and place this against your ear and other end into the overflow/ drain and get others to flush / run water in other sections of the house one at a time and listen for echoing/ gurgling bubbling. I don't believe you should be able to hear this past water filled u traps. don't breathe the fumes in.

oversized vent stacks may also be a problem in some buildings. Previous post about Rid-X is good answer also. smelly air in vents may get pulled into all pipes and spread around. good luck.